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South Bay adds 3,600 jobs, strongest employment gains for April in entire state

By George AvalosContra Costa Times

Posted:
05/19/2012 06:55:12 AM PDT

In a sign that the Silicon Valley economy continues to hum, the South Bay was California's strongest region for employment creation during April, according to a report released Friday by state officials.

The Bay Area overall added 3,200 jobs -- but that represented a sharp slowdown from the pace of gains earlier this year, a worrisome development for the nine-county region. During the first three months of this year, the Bay Area had averaged monthly gains of about 12,600 jobs.

Despite the slowdown, analysts believe the region -- and the rest of California -- will continue to recover from the recession.

That's especially true for regions dominated by the technology sector.

"Right now, the South Bay job engine is firing on all cylinders," said Scott Anderson, a senior economist with Wells Fargo Bank.

The South Bay gained 3,600 jobs in April, the state Employment Development Department reported.

"Tech jobs are growing, and business investment is continuing," said Jordan Levine, director of economic research with Beacon Economics. "These are the kinds of jobs that are causing job growth in the South Bay, San Francisco and San Mateo County."

The San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin metro region also was a powerhouse for job growth, adding 2,900 jobs, the EDD reported.

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The East Bay, however, nose-dived to a loss of 3,200 jobs, a setback for a region that had recently shown signs of perking up.

The South Bay and San Francisco areas gained the most jobs of any metro region in California during April, this newspaper's analysis of the EDD figures showed.

Even better, the robust employment picture appears to be part of a solid trend. The April upswing marked the ninth straight month that the South Bay has added jobs.

"The regions with concentrations of tech jobs are coming back more strongly," Meyers said. "The South Bay didn't have as big a collapse as the East Bay and Inland Empire, and other regions that had problems with the housing market."

California overall lost 4,200 jobs during April, though the statewide jobless rate improved to 10.9 percent in April, down from 11 percent in March.

"This has sort of been the pattern throughout the recovery," Meyers said. "You will see some months of strong gains in California, and then we have losses. It's a lurching process, a stop-and-go recovery."

The jobless rates in the Bay Area drifted lower in April, according to a Beacon analysis of the EDD figures. The East Bay's rate was 9.3 percent, an improvement from 9.6 percent the month before. The South Bay's was 8.6 percent, down from 9 percent, and the San Francisco region's fell to 7.2 percent from 7.5 percent.

Job losses in the East Bay during April were widespread, including 900 restaurants and hotel jobs, 900 clerical and temporary jobs and 600 health care jobs, Beacon Economics reported.

In the South Bay, 1,000 jobs were added in professional, scientific and technical services, and 900 in manufacturing. And in a sign that the tech sector growth has bolstered other industries, 1,400 jobs were added in leisure, hotels, restaurants, arts and entertainment services, a Beacon analysis determined.

"It seems like Silicon Valley, San Francisco and the Peninsula areas are where just about all the jobs are being created right now in California," Anderson said.